Economist.com Cities Guide: San Francisco Briefing - June 2005

News this month

The city's man in the Vatican

Pope Benedict XVI has appointed William Levada, archbishop of San Francisco, to lead the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the office responsible for defending Catholic doctrine. The post, formerly held by Pope Benedict himself, is one of the most powerful in the Vatican. In assuming the post, Archbishop Levada will become the highest-ranking American in church history. His appointment suggests that Benedict XVI may want to improve the church’s relations with its American members over controversial issues such as gay rights, contraception, the role of women in the church and sexual abuses by priests.

Archbishop Levada, a 68-year-old theologian, is a fourth-generation Californian who worked in the Vatican’s doctrinal office before becoming archbishop of San Francisco in 1995. An old friend of Benedict XVI, he shares many of the pope's conservative views, but has won praise for his ability to compromise without abandoning doctrine. For example, he found a way for Catholic organisations receiving money from the City of San Francisco to offer health benefits to employees’ domestic partners, without having to reverse his opposition to gay marriage.

The empire moves

George Lucas, creator of “Star Wars” and champion of digital cinema, is to move three divisions of his company from Marin County to new headquarters in San Francisco’s Presidio, a former military base turned park. Lucasfilm and about 1,500 of its employees will take up residence in the $350m Letterman Digital Arts Centre, with views of the bay and Golden Gate Bridge.

The move will bring Mr Lucas's digital operations under one roof, with special-effects teams working alongside video-game developers. Such consolidation is impossible in the rural hills of Marin County, where departments are scattered across several locations. Mr Lucas, whose final instalment of “Star Wars” has just been released, will remain with his editors and art department at Skywalker Ranch, San Rafael, where he will focus on making smaller films and documentaries.

Spared the axe

City leaders in the Bay Area breathed a sigh of relief when the Pentagon announced that just two of the region's 21 military bases are to close. On the chopping block is the Onizuka Air Force Station in Sunnyvale, which employs 278 workers and helps run the military’s satellite system, and a defunct weapons depot in Concord. The latter closure was cause for celebration: Concord has long wanted to boost its economy by turning the base into offices and homes.

During the last round of closures in the 1990s, the Bay Area lost nine bases, including the Presidio, which employed 50,000 people. But this turned out to be beneficial. Many of the bases are in varying stages of being transformed into housing, business and high-tech complexes.

Gearing up for battle

The University of California (UC) has joined forces with Bechtel, a construction company, in a bid to continue to run Los Alamos National Laboratory for the Department of Energy. Since the laboratory's foundation in 1943, the university has run it in New Mexico, where the first atomic bombs were built. But a management crisis in 2003 prompted the Department of Energy to open the contract to competition, and UC is in danger of losing its annual $2.2 billion deal.

The university faces stiff competition from a joint bid by the University of Texas and Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest defence contractor. The competitors will submit their bids in the summer, and a panel will recommend their choice to the Energy Department this autumn.

No more Devil’s Slide

Construction has started on a $270m tunnel that will let motorists bypass the infamous Devil’s Slide along the Pacific coast, south of San Francisco. Devil’s Slide, a breathtakingly scenic mile-long stretch of Highway 1 about 400 feet above the ocean, earned its name from the winter mudslides that sometimes close the highway and cut off coastal residents for weeks at a time.

The new tunnel is scheduled to open in 2011. Its construction comes after more than 30 years of wrangling over funding, community interests and environmental concerns for a threatened species of red-legged frog. Coastal residents stepped up their campaign for the tunnel after a rockslide in 1995 closed the highway for 159 days. Emergency federal funds are paying for the project, which will actually consist of two 4,000-foot-long, single-lane tunnels. People will still be able to enjoy the views from Devil’s Slide, as the existing highway will be converted into a biking and hiking trail.

Let it flow

Ordering that special bottle from a boutique vineyard is about to get easier. Californian winemakers celebrated a decision by the Supreme Court to strike down laws that have prevented them from shipping directly to consumers in New York, Michigan and 21 other states. The court ruled that the laws were discriminatory and violated the constitution’s ban on the interference of the free flow of interstate commerce.

Winemakers and consumer groups have long fought the laws, which vary from state to state. The laws are relics of the 21st Amendment, which ended Prohibition in 1933 and gave states the license to regulate alcohol sales within their borders. The ruling is expected to immediately affect laws in eight states—including New York, Florida and Michigan—that together purchase 30% of wine sold in the United States.

Catch if you can

June 2005

The Concerts at Wente Vineyards

June 5th-September 26th 2005

One of San Francisco's summertime treats is the Concerts, a series of performances which start at dusk in the grounds of Wente Vineyards, a 122-year-old winery in the East Bay’s Livermore Valley. This year's programme features an eclectic mix of artists, ranging from bearded rockers ZZ Top, to singers such as Pat Benatar, Donna Summer and Chris Isaak. Comedy and jazz are also on the menu.

But the event isn't just about music. The terraced outdoor amphitheatre, surrounded by gardens, vineyards and a winery built in the traditional Mission-style, is a delightful spot in which to while away an evening. Consider a pre-concert meal at at the vineyard’s gourmet restaurant.

Wente Vineyards, 5050 Arroyo Rd, Livermore. Tel: +1 (925) 456-2424. For more information, see the vineyard's website. For tickets, visit Ticketmaster.

More from the San Francisco cultural calendar